Tables are a particularly popular way of presenting information in a high-density and organized format. Tables find wide use both in computer environments and on the web.
Tables prepared by known software packages suffer from a number of limitations that hinder their usefulness as data presentation vehicles. In particular, poorly-prepared tables may have many columns that spread across a web page wider than the screen being used to view the web page. When this occurs in a table having a number of rows only a few of which are of interest to a user, the user is presented with a table format necessitating side-to-side horizontal scrolling, when a top-down orientation is, in fact, optimal. Since known tables have limited ability to transpose rows and columns, this limits the flexibility of tables as a presentation device for users.
Some known web pages do have the ability to create a table to compare, for example, consumer electronic products. In such situations, though, the beginning table presents one set of information, and the table created for comparison purposes contains a new set of information not present in the first table. These table creation systems do not operate under user control in any meaningful sense since the only selection the user can make is what products to compare. The user typically has no choice over the categories used to compare products.
In addition, creation of a new table typically occurs in a new web page with a different graphical and tabular layout, making it difficult for the user to maintain continuity between the first table and the second, new table. Further, such table systems have no way to create a new table from the second table by modification or otherwise; typically the only choice available is to go back to the first table and start from the beginning to spawn a third table.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art desire tables with new and improved functionality, where the new functionality makes the table far easier to use. In particular, those skilled in the art desire in-line table controls that allow users to filter table information and to re-arrange the table format. This means the ability to present information initially organized in column format in row format and to present information initially organized in row format in column format.
In addition, those skilled in the art desire tables with in-line controls that allow users to filter table information as rows and columns are being transposed. This would allow a user, for example, to filter out a number of undesired rows from a table before transposing the remaining, desired rows to a column format. Such ability also would allow a user to filter out undesired columns from a table before transposing the remaining columns to a row format.
Further, those skilled in the art desire tables with maximum continuity between the initial table state and a modified table state. This would cause a minimum amount of disorientation to a user, making the consistent table format even more effective as a data presentation vehicle. Such maximum continuity would mean table transformations would occur ideally in the same page through updating the elements within a table on a page, and not by the surfacing of a new page. If a new page were required, the underlying table graphics would be retained, thereby achieving the goal of minimal user disorientation.
Still further, those skilled in the art also desire new tables that retain intermediate table states and all table information in memory. Tables with this ability would permit a user to review beginning, intermediate and ending table states, and also permit a user to return to a state where all table information is displayed.